All inspections: Paramount Options Ltd - Care Quality Commission

Date of assessment: 29 June 2026 and 31 July 2026

Paramount Options Ltd is a care at home service. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our assessment, 15 people were receiving support with personal care. The service is registered to provide support for adults, dementia, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, sensory impairments, eating disorders and substance misuse. At the time of the assessment the service was providing support for people with a learning disability.

This assessment was carried out following information received from the local authority following their quality assurance visit in April 2026. The service was rated good by the CQC in September 2024.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The provider was not meeting all the principles of ‘Right support, right care, right culture’.

Following investigations into incidents and accidents care plans were not always updated to indicate actions staff could take to reduce risks. Medicines were not always managed safely. Risks were not always identified and risk management plans providing staff with guidance were not always developed. Staff completed a range of training but some specific training relating to specific support needs was not in place.

The provider had a system for recording and reporting safeguarding concerns, but this was not always followed. The provider did not have a quality assurance process which was robust enough for them to identify when actions for improvements were required. People’s care plans did not always include information about the person’s wishes in relation to the provision of their care. Care plans were not always updated to reflect a person’s current support needs.

The provider was in breach of the legal regulation relating to person-centred care, safeguarding, safe care and treatment and good governance.

Date of assessment 28 May to 29 July 2024.

Paramount Options Ltd provides personal care to people in their own homes.

There were 24 people using the service who were receiving personal care when we carried out the assessment. The assessment was carried out by 1 assessor.

During the assessment we contacted 8 people or their relatives, 19 care staff, and 5 healthcare professionals for their feedback about the service.

We looked at 6 quality statements and found the service was safe for people to use, it was provided by trained, professional staff who had been appropriately vetted, and people were able to take acceptable risks. They were able to maintain their independence, had choices regarding the service they received, and control. People had equitable experience of the service provided, and outcomes. There was effective leadership, good governance, and monitoring systems. The rating remains good.

For those areas and quality statements we did not assess, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. We did not identify breaches of any Regulations during this assessment. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next assess them.

About the service

Paramount Options Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to adults living in their own homes in the community. Not everyone using Paramount Options Ltd receives the regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection the service was providing care to three people.

People’s experience of using this service

People were happy with their care and support and told us staff were caring. People received consistent care from the same staff so they could develop trusting relationships with them. Staff treated them with respect and dignity.

People received care and support which was adapted to meet their needs. People had personalised care and risk management plans in place. These set out their likes and preferences for their care and their communication needs. People and relatives were able to give feedback and felt they were listened to when they did. The service worked with other agencies to make sure people received joined up care.

People were supported to be healthy and to access healthcare services. Staff supported people with their food and drinks appropriately, if they required this. Staff received training, support and supervision to provide care to meet people’s needs.

The provider had a suitable process in place for handling complaints and responding to these in a timely manner. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The provider sought feedback from people and relatives and used this to develop the service. There were arrangements in place to check on and maintain the quality of the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was good (published 2 August 2018).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

This inspection took place on 26 June 2018. We gave the provider 24 hours’ notice of the inspection to make sure the registered manager would be available to assist us with the inspection. The last comprehensive inspection of the service was on 14 March 2016 when we rated it as Good for each of the five questions we ask.

Paramount Options Ltd is a domiciliary care service that provides care and support to people living in their own homes in the community. When we inspected, the service was supporting four people. The provider had appointed a manager who registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 3 June 2013. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Not everyone using Paramount Options Ltd receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The provider had systems in place to protect people from abuse and care workers completed training to enable them to use these systems.

The provider assessed risks to people using the service and care workers and acted when they identified possible risks to mitigate these.

There were enough care workers to care for and support people and the provider carried out checks to make sure they were suitable to work with people using the service.

The provider had systems to ensure people received the medicines they needed safely and as prescribed.

Care workers had access to personal protective equipment and infection control training.

The provider assessed people’s care needs and recorded their preferences about how they received care and support.

Care workers had access to the training they needed to deliver effective care and support.

Where it was part of their care plan, care workers supported people to maintain a balanced diet. Care workers also completed training in nutrition and food safety.

Where needed, care workers supported people to meet their healthcare needs. People’s care plans included details of these needs and the provider shared these appropriately with other agencies.

The provider and registered manager understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and only provided care and support with people’s consent or in their agreed best interests.

People told us their care workers treated them with kindness, respect and compassion. Care workers understood the importance of respecting people’s privacy, dignity and independence.

The provider consulted people about the care and support they received and responded to their views and experiences.

The provider assessed people’s care and support needs and developed an individual care plan to meet needs they identified.

The provider had systems for responding to any complaints they received.

The provider had appointed a qualified and experienced manager who had registered with the Care Quality Commission.

People told us managers were accessible and they could contact people when necessary.

The provider had systems in place to monitor quality in the service and make improvements.

This inspection took place on 14 March 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider short notice of the inspection because the location provides a domiciliary and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to assist with the inspection.

We last inspected the service in January 2014 when we found it was meeting all of the standards we inspected.

Paramount Options Ltd is a home care agency providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. When we inspected, the agency was supporting four people with their personal care.

The agency had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Relatives of people using the service told us their family members felt safe with their care workers.

The provider had a policy and procedures for safeguarding people using the service.

Care workers told us they had completed safeguarding adults training and the training records confirmed this.

People were looked after by staff who were trained and knowledgeable about how to meet their needs effectively.

Care workers were able to demonstrate that they knew people’s needs well.

Care workers supported people to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

Care workers respected people’s wishes, gave them choices and supported them to be as independent as they could.

People received a reliable service from care workers who knew and understood their needs.

People’s support plans covered their care needs and detailed the support their care workers provided on each visit.

People told us that staff listened to them, and gave them time to express their views and preferences about the way care is delivered.

Relatives of people using the service and care workers told us they felt able to approach the management team and felt valued by them.

The provider and registered manager had systems to monitor the quality of the service that people received and to make improvements.

The provider and registered manager were active in seeking feedback from people with regard to their experiences of the service and used this to drive improvement.

We spoke with one person using the service, one relative and four staff. The staff included the nominated individual, the registered manager and two care staff.

The service started to provide care and support to people at the end of November 2013. At the time of inspection there were two people using the service.

Staff understood the importance of treating people with dignity and respecting their choices and wishes.

Care was planned to meet people's needs. Risks were assessed and plans put in place to minimise these. Care and risk management was reviewed monthly to ensure information was kept up to date.

People told us they would be confident to raise concerns with the service so they could be addressed.

Recruitment processes were in place and were being followed, to protect people using the service.

Systems were in place for monitoring the quality of care being provided and for obtaining feedback from people using the service so any necessary changes could be planned and implemented.

Paramount Options Ltd

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

During an assessment under our new approach

29 November 2019

During a routine inspection

26 June 2018

During a routine inspection

14 March 2016

During a routine inspection

31 January 2014

During a routine inspection